is a 2009 novel by

Mieko Kawakami is the author of the internationally best-selling novel, '' Breasts and Eggs'', a ''New York Times'' Notable Book of the Year and one of ''TIME'' Best 10 Books of 2020. Born in Osaka on August 29, 1976, Kawakami made her literary debut as a po ...

. Its English translation, released in 2021 and published by

Europa Editions Europa Editions is an independent trade publisher based in New York. The company was founded in 2005 by the owners of the Italian press Edizioni E/O and specializes in literary fiction, mysteries, and narrative non-fiction. Europa has published ...

, had Sam Bett and David Boyd as the translators. This is the second book by Kawakami to be translated into English. The title refers to a painting in the story which one of the characters, a girl named Kojima, gave a new name.

Background

Kawakami, on her personal website, cited ''

Thus Spoke Zarathustra ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None'' (german: Also sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen), also translated as ''Thus Spake Zarathustra'', is a work of philosophical fiction written by German philosopher Friedrich Niet ...

'' as having given her ideas for writing this book.

Content

The story is set in Japan in 1991. The narrator is a 14-year-old boy who has a right eye that aims in a different direction from his left eye, and who is bullied by other male students. Other characters refer to him as "Eyes" (In Japanese ロンパリ, ''Ronpari'', a reference to one eye looking at

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and the other at

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

). Nadja Spiegelman of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' describes "Eyes" as a

flat character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, in ...

. The work does not reveal his legal name. The first chapter documents the bullying he receives. A girl named Kojima (コジマ), also 14, has the nickname "Hazmat" and receives bullying from female students. Her mother left her father and married a wealthier man, while her father remained in a poorer background. She seeks to befriend "Eyes", leaving notes for him to read. Kojima chooses not to take baths, has clothing that is not clean, and keeps her hair in an unkempt state. Eyes and Kojima believe that they are counteracting their bullying by allowing it to happen to them. Kojima believes that receiving bullying helps purify her, and gives her meaning, something the author of the book disagrees with and characterizes it as harming Kojima; Lily Meyer of

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

(NPR) states that Kawakami has a sympathetic view of Kojima. Due to her affinity to her father, Kojima adopts the appearance of a poor person deliberately, and the book reveals that after her mother became wealthy she had stopped taking baths. In latter parts of the book she later starves herself. She disagrees with "Eyes"'s idea of getting surgery to correct his condition. Thu-Huong Ha in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' describes Kojima's view of bullying as "kind of religious, moralistic". Meyer stated that Kojima is similar to Franny Glass, and that she drags down "Eyes", being unable to provide "true friendship or solidarity". Ninomiya (二ノ宮), who serves as the lead bully, has the highest grades of all of the students in the class. Merve Emre describes Ninomiya as "handsome, popular". Momose (百瀬), who serves as Ninimoya's assistant, tells Kojima that bullies act due to the fact they are able to do so. Ha describes Momose's view as "nihilistic". The bullying increases in intensity as the plot continues. After the speech, "Eyes" rejects Kojima's beliefs and decides to confront a tormenter. Due to the time period, the work does not feature

cyberbullying Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Cyberbullying and cyberharassment are also known as online bullying. It has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers, as the digital ...

Reception

In 2010 the work was awarded the Murasaki Shikibu Prize. The English translation was shortlisted for the

International Booker Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize was announced ...

in 2022.

Reviews

Spiegelman stated that the English version is "impeccably translated", and she described the ending as "breathtaking". Ha stated that parts of the book appear to be like "

torture porn A splatter film is a subgenre of horror films that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of wikt:gore, gore and graphic violence. These films, usually through the use of special effects, display a fascination with the vulnerability of the h ...

". '' Kirkus Reviews'' describes it as "an unexpected classic", with the writing being "startlingly graceful". Emre stated that the work "shows us how to think about

morality Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of co ...

as an ongoing, dramatic activity", something that is the "real magic" of the work. Meyer wrote that ''Heaven'' is "simpler" than '' Breasts and Eggs'' (the English version of Kawakami's ''Natsu Monogatari'') and that it is "a raw, painful, and tender portrait of adolescent misery" that "is very likely to make you cry".

References

External links

Heaven
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